Anointing altar/ritual items.

[iKillCaustic]

I've heard many people do it and I think I may have acidentally offended someone the other day when I said I don't anoint my things when I use them in ritual. Nor do I cleanse them...and she almost had a heart attack when I said I always used my hunting knife if I ever needed a blade for something.

So what's the deal with anointing items? Is there a history behind it? Does everyone do it or is it only done if someone is asked to by a deity?

I apologise if this sounds a little odd...it is 1am over here after all...  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

iKillCaustic--uKillMe

I've heard many people do it and I think I may have acidentally offended someone the other day when I said I don't anoint my things when I use them in ritual. Nor do I cleanse them...and she almost had a heart attack when I said I always used my hunting knife if I ever needed a blade for something.

So what's the deal with anointing items? Is there a history behind it? Does everyone do it or is it only done if someone is asked to by a deity?

I apologise if this sounds a little odd...it is 1am over here after all...

They're your things. Why should you have to anoint them if you have no reason to do so within your tradition?  

[Morgandria]

Huh. I don't 'anoint' many things, since my skin is insanely sensitive and breaks out when it contacts almost any oil...and soap...and hot water...etc. I've certainly used oils to bless some things, at various points...but the oil doesn't stay on long. I wipe it off. Even if I'm self-blessing with oil.

As a consequence, my personal practice doesn't involve oils often. I sometimes anoint candles, but that's about it. Unless I can avoid directly manipulating the oils with my hands, I don't use them.
I can't avoid it as neatly with Wicca. Often I come home with really messed up skin. :

I also don't cleanse my ritual objects, unless they're new and I need to consecrate them. After that, no cleansing. I want them to accumulate ritual resonance. Cleansing would undo that. Cleaning, yes. Cleansing, no.

I think the attitude mostly stems from too many '101' level books out there emphasizing the importance of certain actions - like consecration, like cleansing, like blessing, like anointing - and a level of inexperience and insecurity in a person. Some books do make it sound as if every ritual tool has to have gone through a certain song and dance, and letting it build up any sort of energy and personality is a crime. People end up feeling that 'real' pagans or witches have to do these things in order to be taken seriously. And the process will use up lots of 'product' like incense and oils, thus ensuring that early on SOMEONE is benefiting from that insecure or misinformed need to cleanse and consecrate everything they use.

Personally, I like tools that have been consecrated by use for what they were intended. Tools aren't useful if 99% of the time they're sitting around gathering dust.  

[Esiris]

I anoint candles so I can add the magic of the oil to the magic of the candle.
I anoint metal blades to protect them from rusting- but that's really about it right now.  

[iKillCaustic]

Thanks for that guys. That makes a little more sense - anointing seems to be more of a personal preferance then I take it? Consecration I understand.

Cleansing seems a little less straightforward - I can see where Morgandria's coming from in saying that cleansing would undo the work done with the tool in the past. Yes it would give all your tools personality and make them all truly personal. It seems to me that this person was worried about them picking up bad influences and that's why they have to be cleased each time they're used. I never let anyone touch my tools (bar the hunting knife) mainly because I'm half paranoid that they'll get broken and they have no reason to be using it anyway.  

[kyndryana3]

I have a few dedicated tools that I have anointed and consecrated. I don't anoint everything that gets used rituals, not even all my tools. I've never anointed either of my wands.

I don't view anointing as a necessary but an extra in my practice. On reusable tools, I feel it is somewhat of an extra blessing. On consumables, it is another layer to a working.